When Daphne Pang breastfed her newborn daughter for the first time in 2019, she felt a mix of disbelief and wonder.
Then 38, she never thought she would experience breastfeeding. That’s because Pang, who works in marketing, was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer when she was 31. Her treatment plan included a single mastectomy, where one breast was removed, allowing her to nurse from the other.
Pang is among the 45 per cent of women who manage to breastfeed after a single mastectomy, said Dr Peter Ang, senior medical oncologist at OncoCare Cancer Centre.
Breastfeeding after breast cancer is rarely straightforward, Dr Ang added. Women in this situation fall into two groups: Those diagnosed with breast cancer during their nursing journey, and those who survive breast cancer and later get pregnant.
Each group faces distinct physical and emotional challenges, but these mothers share the same question: “Can I even breastfeed after breast cancer?”
FACING BREAST CANCER WHILE BREASTFEEDING
There are different types of breast cancer treatments, Dr Ang said.
Your doctor may recommend a lumpectomy (removing part of the breast) or mastectomy (removing the entire breast).
You can also undergo radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy), where high-energy rays are used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours.
There are also systemic therapies using drugs: Chemotherapy destroys or shrinks cancer cells, hormone therapy blocks the hormones that help cancer cells grow, and immunotherapy stimulates the body’s immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells.
“For women who have not started cancer treatment, it is usually safe to continue breastfeeding,” said Dr Lee Wai Peng, senior consultant and breast surgeon at Solis Breast Care & Surgery Centre.
“It’s a myth that breast cancer can pass through breast milk,” she added.
Dr Mythili Pandi, a lactation consultant, family physician and the director of Mother & Child pregnancy care centre, said that mothers who undergo a lumpectomy can continue breastfeeding if the affected breast can still produce milk, while those who have had a single mastectomy can usually nurse from their unaffected breast.
One of Dr Mythili’s patients was a mother with a six-month-old baby who found a lump in her breast that persisted despite fully expressing her milk. The patient was referred to a breast centre, where she underwent an ultrasound biopsy and was advised to have a lumpectomy.
“It was a very distressing episode for the new mum, but she was still able to breastfeed from both breasts after everything she went through, and stopped only when it became emotionally stressful for her,” said Dr Mythili.
